Hi there! I used to be a frequent chatter on another forum for parents of FA kids. Never thought I would need to use one for myself

I've been diagnosed a few years back with multiple respiratory allergies, typically all pollen types. Then I slowly began reacting to apples, without realizing it, until one day about a year ago it clicked that some types of apples would make my chest go tight. It got much worse to the point where I reacted 2 months ago to a tiny amount of cooked apple in a muffin: I choked. Didn't have meds, was at a play, didn't do nothing... dumb huh?

Then came other fruits with GI symptoms. Oh btw I've also suffered from chemical sensitivity for many years now, having severe GI symptoms to most of the food additives, especially preservatives. All hell broke loose 2 weeks ago: first I got very severe GI reaction to lime; 2 days later, my throat became all swollen and I had a bad asthma attack after OJ (which I drank daily for years!!). Didn't do nuttin...

After 2 days on Benadryl and Ventolin, I had a one-day break. Next morning I drank grape juice, later ate fresh grape, few hours later ate some more grape and bam! throat swelling, asthma, feeling discouraged... after Benadryl and Ventolin, around dinner time my friend had brought wine (which for some reason I never thought would make me react): after half a glass, my mouth started swelling, saliva disappeared, and I had low blood pressure for one hour... guess what? Yep, stayed home once again, silly me! That one took 4 days of Benadryl and Ventolin before it got better. Then 3 days ago, bam! reacted to PB which I ate for years... and yesterday, I reacted to soy milk, and I FINALLY made it to ER!!! God I feel so ashamed, being mother of 2 kids with FAs, knowing the drill and all, it just didn't apply to ME

So here I am, totally drugged with cortisone and Zantac so my immune system can finally get turned off. Awaiting phone call from allergist to get faster appt (was scheduled for December). Meanwhile, can't eat ANY fruit, only cooked veggies, no soy, no peanuts, no nuts (had GI symptoms from OAS), no potatoes, can't drink juice, no wine... What a mess I made with myself

My goodness - that's a lot of reactions! Glad to hear that you are OK after all that, and hope you get in with the allergist sooner rather than later. You may have already done this, but sometimes being on the cancellation waitlist really speeds it up.

Oh, and welcome to the forum! I have found this site extremely useful for both info and support over the last few years since my DD was diagnosed with PA.

Well, I thought that prednisone and Zantac would help me cope, but I guess that wasn't fast enough since I got another reaction today at work At least it was mild since I took only a tiny tiny bit to wait and see... got a bit swollen in my throat and bad asthma, but nothing to worry about.

Not sure though what happened, since I had organic plain yogourt and maple syrup mixed with Immunocal which is whey protein powder supposed to help your immune system... so I spoke with my dear friend who's a dietician specialized in FAs and she thought it might have been the Immunocal, or the yogourt (I react to any type of mold). Since I had cream in my coffee later at lunch and rxn didn't get worse, I assume she was right. So tomorrow I'll try a drop of milk on my skin/lip/tongue to see if anything happens, but I suspect yogourt to be the culprit...

Anyways, it ain't over yet and I'm still waiting to hear from the hospital. I cross my fingers and hope to God that I won't get any more reactions!!

Hi Chantale and welcome!
I happen to be from Montreal as well First off, sorry to hear about all the reactions. It can be really frightening (and frustrating!).
I actually used to work at a health food store. Wondering why you are taking Immunocal? It isn't just a regular protein powder, it's for people with really compromised immune function. Anyways, I don't remember the ingredients but check the label. Even though it's whey, it doesn't mean it's the only ingredient. It's quite possible there is soy in there as well, or maybe potato starch (although I rarely saw that it protein powders). And let's not forget that labelling still isn't perfect so if there is a word you don't recognize, look it up or ask us here. It may be an allergen in disguise.
If you want a protein powder, I would switch to rice. It is the most hypoallergenic kind. The one I take has one ingredient: whole grain organic, non GMO brown rice. I can suggest stores since you're in Montreal.
Let me know if you're interested,
Lisa

_________________Associate Editor at Allergic Living.
Allergies to all nuts and legumes except soy and green beans.

I tried Immunocal since my mother is a cancer survivor who made it in part bc of it. So I thought it might have helped me with allergies. I took only about 4 doses a few weeks back, and yesterday was my first try since I had all those severe reactions. I used to have only mild OAS, but for some reason it turned really bad about 2 months ago - starting with a tiny bit of cooked apple in a muffin bite... btw that was before I tried Immunocal since some people thought it might have triggered it.

As for the ingredients, I checked over and over, even on their website, and all that is listed is Whey protein isolate (cow's milk). I know I had a bad GI reaction to their other brand called Platinum but it contained Whey Protein Isolate (cow’s milk), Creatine (monohydrate), Potassium (citrate monohydrate), Sodium (citrate), Calcium (citrate), Magnesium (citrate) and Citric Acid. And I know I react to citric acid.

So, at this point, I'm sticking to the minimum, rice and pasta, homemade bread, cooked veggies to which I didn't react yet, some meat, dairy which is fine so far. And I'm crossing my fingers each time I put food in my mouth... Today I'm still having asthma from yesterday's reaction, even with the meds I'm taking, it's quite amazing! My girls are back with me for a week and I had to tell them that I ended up in ER on my birthday this week, that I'm at risk of having other reactions and boy, do they know what I'm talking about, sweet kids

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